Aalo Atomics Unveils First Prototype of Modular XMR Reactor, Opening Door to a New Era of AI-Powered Nuclear Energy
In a major leap forward for the nuclear energy industry, Aalo Atomics, the pioneering company behind fully modular nuclear plants—known as XMRs (Extra-Modular Reactors)—has officially revealed its first non-nuclear prototype of the Aalo-1 reactor. Alongside this unveiling, the company also showcased its brand-new, state-of-the-art 40,000-square-foot manufacturing facility located in Austin, Texas.
These milestones mark a critical step in the company’s mission: to provide modern AI-driven data centers with fast, safe, clean, and reliable energy using an entirely reimagined approach to nuclear power. In just two years, Aalo has positioned itself at the forefront of a new wave of nuclear innovation—one that aligns not with the energy needs of the past, but with the power-intensive demands of the digital and AI future.
A New Category of Nuclear Reactor
As demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure skyrockets, traditional energy systems are proving inadequate to supply the necessary power to run next-generation data centers. Aalo Atomics believes that this growing gap requires more than just incremental improvement—it demands a new category of nuclear reactor, one designed from the ground up to meet the evolving needs of the AI age.
“We believe that to address today’s massive data center market demand, another category of nuclear reactor is needed,” said Matt Loszak, CEO of Aalo Atomics. “One that blends the benefit of the factory manufacturing of microreactors, the power levels of SMRs [Small Modular Reactors], and the economic targets of a large reactor.”
The result of this thinking is the XMR, which stands for “Extra-Modular Reactor,” with the “X” symbolizing added flexibility, scalability, and a modular design ethos. The XMR approach redefines how nuclear energy can be deployed—rapidly, reliably, and in a format tailored to the exacting needs of data-driven operations.
Introducing the Aalo-1 and Aalo Pod
At the heart of Aalo’s innovation is the Aalo-1 reactor, the foundational component of what the company calls the Aalo Pod—a 50 megawatt electric (MWe) modular power plant. Each Aalo Pod houses five Aalo-1 reactors and is specifically engineered for high-density data centers. This is not a one-size-fits-all plant—it’s a purpose-built, energy-dense system with AI in mind.
What sets the Aalo Pod apart from traditional nuclear setups is its fully modular architecture, both in the design of the reactor core and the plant as a whole. This modularity allows for seamless scalability—from tens of megawatts to gigawatt-level deployments—without the lengthy lead times or budgetary uncertainties that plague conventional nuclear builds.
Unlike large-scale plants that require massive infrastructure and external water sources, the Aalo Pod is compact and self-sufficient. Its design eliminates the need for water cooling, enabling it to be colocated directly onsite at data centers—something that was previously unthinkable for nuclear technologies. This on-premise deployment potential significantly reduces transmission losses and offers a level of reliability and autonomy not seen before.
The reactors are sodium-cooled, a proven method in advanced reactor technologies, and use low-enriched uranium fuel (LEU+), which is both readily available and widely regarded as a safe fuel standard. Importantly, the entire Aalo Pod can be mass-manufactured and shipped using conventional freight systems, drastically cutting down on time and complexity for deployment.
Powering the AI Revolution
With the rise of AI, machine learning, and real-time cloud computing, global data centers are experiencing an exponential surge in power requirements. Many operators are facing a crunch: they need massive power, but can’t afford the environmental or reliability trade-offs of fossil fuels or even some renewable systems.
“Nuclear energy offers clear advantages, and Aalo’s breakthrough XMR category delivers the right balance of scale, modularity, and economics to enable fast deployment of clean and reliable power at competitive costs,” said Kirsty Gogan, Founding Director and Co-CEO of climate-focused energy think tank Terra Praxis. “This is what nuclear energy for the AI age looks like.”
The XMR is more than just a reactor—it’s an infrastructure solution designed to transform the way we power tomorrow’s tech. Aalo’s ambition is to democratize nuclear energy by making it more accessible, flexible, and affordable to a range of industries, especially those at the cutting edge of innovation.
Rapid Progress and Strategic Expansion
Despite being only two years old, Aalo Atomics has moved with a sense of urgency rarely seen in the nuclear sector. Over the past several months, the company has made impressive strides, signaling both internal growth and increasing institutional recognition:
- Strategic Partnerships: Aalo was selected as one of just four partners to co-develop up to 1 GW of nuclear energy generation capacity at the Texas A&M RELLIS Campus, a major endorsement of Aalo’s technological promise.
- Land Acquisition in Texas: The company has acquired land in Texas for non-nuclear testing, a necessary phase for optimizing its designs before nuclear operations commence.
- Growing Workforce: Aalo has scaled up its team to over 40 employees, with plans to reach 70 by year-end, a clear sign of expanding operations and project timelines.
- Federal Support: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has earmarked a parcel of land at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) as a potential site for Aalo to build a full-fledged nuclear facility.
- Public-Private Deployment Pathway: Aalo has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Idaho Falls Power to deploy seven factory-built Aalo-1 reactors, with a total generation capacity of 75 MW—providing real-world demonstration of modular reactor utility.
These efforts, when combined, underscore the momentum Aalo is building as it heads toward groundbreaking on its first nuclear-powered Aalo-1 reactor next year.
Reinventing Nuclear for the 21st Century
The traditional image of nuclear power—large, expensive, and decades in the making—is precisely what Aalo is working to leave behind. The company’s vision is rooted in mass manufacturing, a strategy aimed at lowering costs, increasing safety, and boosting deployment speed.
“We are aiming to do for nuclear reactors what Henry Ford did for cars,” said Loszak. “Currently, many utilities are shying away from building large nuclear plants, because of the uncertainty in cost and schedule. By making reactors in factories, we make the process fast, repeatable, and predictable, decreasing costs without sacrificing quality or safety.”
This mass manufacturing model is a direct challenge to the status quo and a call for a new era of decentralized, responsive nuclear energy—where smaller, smarter systems provide just-in-time power to wherever it’s needed most.
